Strictly canal cleaning: Bill Bailey swings into action to clear litter

Strictly Come Dancing winner Bill Bailey famously conquered the ­dancefloor but is now taking the lead in a new challenge – cleaning up our canals.

The comedian will have a host of famous partners to follow his moves, with a team of celebrities all ready to roll on the water.

Bill, the 2020 Strictly champion, is leading an appeal to clear the nation’s wildlife-rich canals of harmful plastic waste.

Joining him are Strictly pro dancer Neil Jones, Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Deborah Meaden, Time Team star Tony Robinson, singer Cerys Matthews, broadcaster Gaby Roslin and Property Ladder’s Sarah Beeny.

Some 14 million pieces of plastic end up in and around the Canal & River Trust’s waterways each year, with 500,000 of them ending up floating out to sea. This is despite the charity’s volunteers spending 100,000 hours each year clearing litter, with the annual clean-up bill totalling £1million.

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Plastic waste along the country’s waterways has a catastrophic impact on wildlife and nature, harming ducks, swans, otters, endangered water voles and fish, with many species at risk of permanent harm from pollution.

The Canal & River Trust, which raises funds to protect 2,000 miles of historic canals and waterways in England and Wales, is urging the public to take action to end ­pollution by joining the Big
Plastic Pick Up this autumn. The initiative is being led by the star-studded team of helpers.

Dancer and choreographer Neil said: “I’ll be partnering up with my litter picker to help out.

“Plastic can be dangerous to both people and wildlife, so we urgently need to keep up the fight against it. Together we can banish plastic rubbish by canals for good.”

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The Canal & River Trust is appealing for people to donate £14, pick up 14 pieces of litter and encourage 14 friends to join the fight against plastic.

Trust spokesman Eoin Harris said: “We have worked out that if everyone visiting our canals and waterways picked up just one piece of plastic, the network would be clear of litter within a year. Litter has a devastating impact on the wildlife inhabiting canals and rivers.”

The Daily Express’s Green Britain Needs You campaign calls for greater awareness of nature.

Get involved at canalrivertrust.org.uk/bigplasticpickup.

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